One unreleased prototype of a top-of-the-line RTX Titan Ada generation card from NVIDIA, never officially launched, returned to the spotlight after falling into the hands of Roman “the 8 o’clock” Hartung.
In a new video, the enthusiast disassembles the unit and shows, step by step, how NVIDIA assembled one unusual structure, with chassis almost entirely made up of heatsinklogic board installed on the side and a power supply scheme designed for two connectors 12VHPWR.
Disassembly helps explain why this model became “legendary” after the RTX 40 series: the size is non-standard, the design resembles concepts that would only appear later in more recent designs, and the assembly itself would be complex for scale production lines.
What makes this prototype different from a regular board?
The first impression comes from the outside. The set resembles the idea of “a large block of metal” with fans at the ends, and with an extra detail: there is a third smaller fan in the middlevisible only at certain angles.
From above, you can “see through” the body of the board at some points, because the layout deviates from the standard in which the PCB occupies the entire central area.
Der8auer also comments on the size: it is a design quad-slotlarge enough to raise questions about compatibility in many cases and about feasibility of mass assembly.
Step by step dismantling shown in the video
The process starts at the rear region, where the video outputs and the I/O shield are located. The board uses 3x DisplayPort 1.4a e 1x HDMI 2.1and the curious detail is that these connectors are soldered directly to the main boardinstead of appearing on an auxiliary plaque, as has been seen in other projects.
With the shield removed, he finds a separation line and uses a tool to loosen one. side plate secured by the assembly. The piece brings heatpipes e thermal pads positioned to touch board components, such as areas associated with memory and power control.
From there, the “star” appears: the Side-Mounted PCB of the board body, a solution that is reminiscent of other previous prototypes shown in the community. At this point in the dismantling, you can see 12 x 2GB GDDR7 modules on the visible face, with 12 more modules on the backtotaling 48GB of VRAM.
To remove the PCB, the video shows the disassembly of the structural core: the board is turned over and the large metallic “X” on the chassis is removed. Below, appear routing channels for flat fan cables, which need to be disconnected at more than one point before the assembly releases.
After that, he removes more screws and comes to a central mechanism with springs. The step was partially done off-camera to hide codes and numbers that could reveal the exact origin of the prototype. In the end, the PCB separates completely from the chassis, with the chip AD102 not center.
What appears on the PCB when it is “naked”
A detail that draws attention in the video is the fitting of the computer bus. Instead of the PCIe x16 connector be integrated as a natural part of the PCB, an assembly appears connected by flat cables to a daughter boardreminiscent of what is seen in vertically mounted risers.
On the opposite side, there are points connected to the power supply and I/O. The video also shows that the video ports are on the board itself, without depending on a separate module.
How NVIDIA took power up to two 12VHPWR
The most different part of the disassembly is in the energy path. Instead of two traditional connectors visible on the PCB, the prototype uses contact points which touch cooler elements to receive power.
Der8auer interprets that one of the points must act as terra (ground)while the other two would answer each to one of the 12VHPWRcom sense pines appearing loose after disassembly.
This type of solution suggests a project aimed at dealing with high consumption and, at the same time, keeping the exterior “clean” in terms of visible cables and connectors, although it greatly complicates the construction of the set.
Why is this a topic now?
The same prototype had already appeared in previous performance content and, months ago, der8auer would have already shown the model 48GB of VRAM and high-level specs, highlighting that NVIDIA came close to having something even more extreme in the Ada era.
With complete disassembly, the focus stops being “how much it runs” and becomes “how it was assembled”, since much of the fascination of this model lies in the non-standard design and mechanical and electrical choices that rarely appear in final products.
Also read:
What disassembly can reveal about future graphics card design
At the end of the video, der8auer comments that it took about an hour and a half to reassemble everything and had to review the recording so as not to lose screws and steps.
He also states that, in his view, this plate and the RTX 5090 They are among the most impressive you’ve ever seen in terms of engineering. This type of comment helps to assess how much the prototype deviates from an “off-the-shelf model”.
If there is a broader reading here, it points to a path that the industry is already exploring: boards that are increasingly complex internally, with modular parts, ribbon cables, auxiliary boards and mechanical solutions that try to balance cooling, power and space.
The difference is that, in the case of this prototype, the set appears to have been pushed to the limit before becoming a real product, and the very fact that it never reached stores suggests the weight of factors such as cost, difficulty of assembly and scale production logistics.
Source: der8auer (YouTube)
Source: https://www.adrenaline.com.br/nvidia/desmonte-rtx-titan-ada-prototipo-dupla-12vhpwr/
